What made classic wow better than current?

[Orby]

Its been 11 years since I started WoW and I seriously dont have the time as much as I used to, that's the only thing I miss about vanilla, 'time'. I remember playing WoW for 12 hours straight this one time, now days IO can barely play for 12 minutes Growing up sucks. :*(

[AeneasBK]

I never ran into the same people over and over...you know why? Because I wasn't on a half dead server...I had a nice sized guild on a nice sized server.

But is it not true?

Honestly it doesn't take super human charisma to have people want to group up with you again. If you never experienced it; the problem most definitely was you.

Which is not in itself an issue either. But to pretend the game necessitated long waits for group content is pretty subjective. The early dungeons (in the relevant faction areas; so not really Deadmines for Horde or Shadowfang Keep for Alliance ) were usually in the zone everyone levels in and are a doozy to group for; and the by the time you've reached Scarlet Monastery; to use the given example; the only reason you wouldn't have a double handful of people to run dungeons with is either "you didn't want to add them to your friends list" or "they didn't want to group with you". None of which is an issue with the game. There was plenty of difficult stuff that required grouping up by that stage.

[Kyanion]

I have an idea. About 1.9 million give or take for EU and US. It was nearly 1.6 before Christmas.

Still trying to use an inaccurate source? K.

[Deleted]

The lack of infrastructure in the game made people creative and they made their own communities and systems within the game. Example is DKP to distribute loot, GS to show how good you were, guild taxes for raid upkeep, and a communication based invite system, mening the leader had full control who was getting invited and had a responsibility to make sure the group made it to the end of the dungeon.

[Echo of Soul]

I've played all of the Thief games. I love 1 & 2, but I think 3 is better than both, and 4 is terrible.

It's all subjective. Nostalgia does apply to video games. I go back and play those games specifically to recapture the feelings and story I experienced then. I even feel the same nostalgia when certain songs come on the radio and remind me of the months I spent playing Warcraft 2 at my parent's place as a kid while my mom listened to Sinatra. Every time, I end up dragging out my bnet version of WC2 and playing it for a day or two.

I do that too. However when it goes from a few hours to hundreds of hours I don't think it's no longer nostalgia at the wheel, at least not for me. It's the same thing with Paint It Black being one of my all time favorite songs of all time and I listen to it on a weekly basis, I wasn't even born when it was made.

[InfiniteCharger]

You stop exaggerating...claiming every corner you turned there where people you suddenly made these expansive friendships with because you ran a instance with them. Don't give me that bullshit isn't common...it happened every single day...but some people didn't feel like sitting outside of a summoning stone like a tool for hours and maybe even get a group....because they don't have a tank and or healer.

I never ran into the same people over and over...you know why? Because I wasn't on a half dead server...I had a nice sized guild on a nice sized server.

Most people talking about community in vanilla were talking about the various interactions playing in the world. It wasn't simply about finding a group in Ironforge. That was a thing but it wasn't typically something you had to deal with until higher level dungeons. The community feeling came from being out in the various leveling zones and finding players who were on the same quest as you and generally the same level and you adding them to your friends list to do content together. That was a big thing in vanilla. There were the things like stitches in duskwood and the underground catacombs that were full of mobs and needed a group to successfully navigate. As for most leveling dungeons it was pretty easy to find folks at the entrance to a dungeon or in the nearby zone who were willing to group for things like the stockades, deadmines, blackfathom deeps and so forth.

[Xummy]

One reason vanilla tbc and wrath was better, was that the stage was set beforehand with characters and plots.
It followed a nice fantasy arch trilogy.
With the death of arthas Blizzard should have made warcraft4 set 1000 years later. Our characters would have grown old and died becomming heroes of the past.
Blizzard could then have worked on classes.
Blizzard turned this former "HBO show like" game into a "day time show like" game. Cataclysm should have been named "world of warcraft, jumping the dragon" and fonzi could have been the hero. Every exp after wrath has just been a "heeeeere´s a new villain"

[Deleted]

Simple: It was a fucking MMORPG back then and no Single-Player RPG! I'm playing on Elysium right now and in the first 25 Levels I have grouped with more People to do a Quest than in all of Retail WoW since like WotLK!

Not to mention that Leveling is a joke since Casualysm. Its pretty much impossible to die and Heirloom Gear killed so much of the Leveling fun. In Vanilla I'm happy when I found fucking Grey Shoulders! ...In Vanilla people probably do not even loot them. Same for Green Items, whcih are just vendored on Retail. Why even let them Drop, when People not using them...

[belleflop]

I wouldn't say there's even a comparison. Vanilla and retail are two totally different games. The arguments from both sides are subjective, so trying to have some type of consensus is futile.

My suggestion transcends this vanilla vs retail discuss and points out two general rules I'd encourage anyone to follow.
1.) If you are enjoying something, then do that thing. If you are not enjoying it then don't do that thing.
2.) Don't try and superimpose your views on to others. They probably don't like or dislike the same thing as you.

[Kithelle]

One reason vanilla tbc and wrath was better, was that the stage was set beforehand with characters and plots.
It followed a nice fantasy arch trilogy.
With the death of arthas Blizzard should have made warcraft4 set 1000 years later. Our characters would have grown old and died becomming heroes of the past.
Blizzard could then have worked on classes.
Blizzard turned this former "HBO show like" game into a "day time show like" game. Cataclysm should have been named "world of warcraft, jumping the dragon" and fonzi could have been the hero. Every exp after wrath has just been a "heeeeere´s a new villain"

Except it isn't like that? If you're trying to talk gritty...than Legion I would say is as gritty or more than Wrath...people dying everywhere...both factions lost its leader...heroes dying and losing faith in their strength or powers...

But yes...pretend Legion is all rainbows and sunshine because it supports your rather stupid post.

[Chaosinciter]

Vanilla is by all means worse except in the part of interwoven server community, with very few specs actually being viable for raiding and pvp was a shit show of just who could one shot who first there was very little that the game would have going for it in this day and age. But for when it came out it was new and a far more casual MMORPG than the ones that were out at the time, thus more appealing and helping popularize it. And while i do like the old talent trees, they didn't offer much actual choice as there was only even one "Proper" way to spec and we actually have more talent variance NOW than we did back then.

[Darkeon]

Why Classic, or any other version really, might feel better than Current-Expansion is up to each individual to decide, according to their own tastes and preferences.

On me, was mostly the social aspect of it. You were forced to engage socially and create ties and bonds.
And, while the above might seem like an introvert worst nightmare, it also means everyone was, up to their standards, doing a similar thing. Today, if I want to interact with someone, I'll have to initiate. And that's not easy.

If you need convincing, or explanation, as to why Classic WoW was better, chances are it's not your preference and it'll never be. Move on.

[Deleted]

Rose tinted glasses, Vanilla is old and obsolete, current is 1000000x better.

[BaP]

Nothing!!!!!!!!!!

[Kheldin]

The community and the better lore - not everyone was a super hero back in the days.

Oh, and the numbers had been ok... nobody with 3mio life and shit.

[RickJamesLich]

Community, lore (kind of tough to keep the game going after a decade and always come up with a new baddie without it being redundant), classes weren't homogenized back then, itemization was a lot more interesting, dungeons felt like actual dungeons where you had to follow certain mechanics or you'd wipe, you couldn't get epics while afk'ing back then, a better social experience, quests that were actually challenging where you could actually die, no flying, lack of welfare epics... I guess I could go on. The only real improvements I think happened are to rotations and the graphics of the game.

[Relapses]

@Triks -- exactly what does that have to do with this topic? Like, at all?

[Averrix]

Nothing in classic WoW every wants to make me go back to it. The only thing that people remember most about it was the community. When you actually had to get groups together to do stuff and not just sit waiting for LFR or LFD. And people actually communicated in dungeons. It wasn't just the silent movie that it is now.

[TheDeeGee]

It was new at the time and a fresh concept.

Now it's sluggish and outdated.

[Felfaadaern Darkterror]

Loaded question = lousy research.